My Heart Keeps Holding On
by Alaynna
Summary: Even when things seemed their bleakest, she never gave up on him. Because he promised. UxY oneshot
1. My Heart Keeps Holding On

**My Heart Keeps Holding On**

**Rating**: T

**Description**: Even when things seemed to be over, she never gave up on him. Because he promised. UxY

**Disclaimer:** no, I don't own Code Lyoko. I wish. (Then again, if I got Code Lyoko, everyone would get mad cuz it would suddenly be all angsty haha). I do own Suki-chan, though. Claim to fame. :D

**Author's note**: Yeah. As per my tradition: angsty. Whoo hoo. :D Actually, it's pretty darn depressing, _gomen_. And PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE review when you're done!

**((jAdE))**

**_Bold and italics_**: flashback

**Bold:** thoughts in the flash back

…………………………………………

"Uncle Odd!"

The four-year-old cried out joyfully as she flung open the front door, her little dark brown eyes sparkling happily. She immediately ran forward and clutched at his hand, grasping it like a small monkey would a treat or treasure.

"Hey, there, Suki-chan!"

"_**Yumi."**_

**_His voice was so frail, so weak. It gave her chills, and she could feel tears swell in the back of her eyes. Because she knew what he was going to say._**

The tall blonde man reached down and picked the little girl up with a grin. He swung her around for a few minutes, laughing at her thrilled squeals of excitement. He brought her small cheek to his and cuddled her close, rejoicing that soon he would have a child of his own. He could only hope that he or she would have as cheerful a nature as the little girl.

"Mama in the kitchen!" she said, pointing in the right direction. Even if he hadn't known where the kitchen was, it would not have taken long to find it, for the tiny apartment was small and cramped, barely fit for the two who lived in it, let alone for what was expected.

"Is she eating again?" the man asked, an amused smile rising on his face. She nodded, her brown chin-length hair bobbing up and down against her small round face. She startled many people when she walked down the street. They saw a Caucasian complexity and chocolate brown hair, and then she would look up and astound them with her Asian eyes, the birthmark of her mother's heritage.

**_She'd been expecting this call for awhile now, ever since he had left just a week ago. She'd felt dread every time the phone rang, sighing with silent relief when it wasn't him on the other line. But here it was. She was afraid, and her heart was racing uncontrollably. _**

"_**Please," she whispered, the phone creaking underneath her grip. She was holding the phone so tightly, her knuckles were white. **_

**_She could almost see him smile. It would be a weary and tired smile, but at the same time able to give anyone who saw it courage. It felt to her that he was smiling against her ear, like he always did after they kissed._**

The man walked forward, his long strides taking him down the hall in three steps. Carrying the little girl into the kitchen, he greeted her mother warmly.

"Hey there," he said, smiling at her as he watched her devour a bowl of noodles. What was more shocking than the rate of which she ate was the fact that the whole table was covered with food. The average person would have taken it at face value; the man noted that it was all cheap food, bought for quantity and nutrients, not quality and taste.

The Japanese woman, who could not have been older than her late twenties, looked up. She gave him a tired smile and kept eating from her bowl, her chopsticks fairly flying. Once she was finished, she started on the dumplings and rice.

"How's the baby this morning?" he asked, sitting down to bounce the girl on his knee.

Pausing to wipe her mouth, the woman's hand unconsciously went to the swell of her large belly. She shrugged.

"Just fine since you saw me yesterday," she said, her voice a little testy. She could almost feel the life within her stir.

"**_Yumi…I'm sorry for the position I'm going to put you in. I know things were never easy even when I was home, now they're going to be so hard for you. But I know you can do it."_**

**_Yumi's voice was choked, and she could feel the tenderness of liquid slipping down her face. _**

"**_Why? Why do you have to go after X.A.N.A.? Why can't you let Odd or Aelita or Jeremie do it?"_**

**Or me? Why wouldn't you let me come with you?**

**_He chuckled, a warm rumble that made her heart ache. "Now you're being selfish."_**

The man smiled. "Yes, you're still eating away, ever concerned about the baby's health. Sam's going through the same thing, eating like there's no tomorrow. You're due sooner, though, aren't you? A week or two?"

The mother grimaced and nodded, placing a dumpling in her mouth. Some soy sauce was left on the corner of her mouth, but neither of them did or said anything. They were silent for a few uncomfortable moments, and then he spoke.

"Yumi…you can't afford to go on like this much longer."

The man's voice dropped its cheerfulness, the façade peeling back to reveal the layer of genuine worry and concern for his friend.

"Suki-chan."

The woman's voice was sharp, but the edge in her voice was not directed at her daughter. Though she was only four, the little girl knew this. Even so, the woman checked herself. She turned to the girl and put a rather forced smile on her face.

"Please, darling, go into the other room for a little while, okay? Let me and Uncle Odd talk about grown-up things for a while."

The girl nodded mutely and slid off the man's knee, heading silently into the living room. It was a courtesy more than anything. They all knew that the walls in the apartment were paper-thin.

"**_You know as well as I do he must be stopped, as soon as possible. Yumi, it's not the end of the world."_**

**_Her voice rose shrilly. "Yes it is! It's the end of _my _world if X.A.N.A. kills you."_**

"_**He won't."**_

**_She wanted so badly to believe him. She wanted so badly to be strong for him, but she was weeping. The kind of weeping that racks the whole body and the whole soul._**

"You're turning her into a grown-up, you know."

The woman wearily picked up the rice again and started eating. She barely listened to him anymore, because she hated the repulsive, vindictive words that he spoke. Yet he insisted on pounding them into her ears day after day.

"Yumi, how much longer can you and Suki be supported on your job? You worked as long as you could, refusing to take maternity leave until it was absolutely necessary. Will you be able to go back to work when you need to? And what about the baby's future?"

She lifted one shoulder and dropped it listlessly.

She was tired, oh so tired. But she had to stay strong, for _his_ sake.

"Listen to me. Let me help you. Let Jeremie and Aelita help you. Heaven knows that they have enough money with their computer tinkering. You need us. Think things through a little more."

Her eyes flashed, and the rice bowl was set down with a clatter. "I don't need your help." Her voice was cold steel, low and silky and venomous from endless conversations similar to the one they were having.

"**_Do you promise?" she asked. It was a hopeless promise, she thought to herself. His odds of living were small, so small that they were nearly nonexistent. _**

**_She longed to be able to throw her arms around him, to press her lips to his, to whisper the things that she had intended to share at later times. But everything they'd worked for was being ripped apart._**

"Who else do you think is going to help you, then?" His words were soft, almost pleading. Almost. He willed and prayed and begged silently that she didn't still believe what she had told him for these past long months. But it was in vain; he saw it in her eyes.

The man leaned across the table until he was only a breath away from her.

"Yumi."

His voice was molten, harsh, liquid like blood. It hurt him as much as her, but he had to say it and snap her out of her insanity and selfish pride.

"He's not coming back."

She didn't react, because she didn't hear his words. Instead, she picked up the rice again and started to eat.

"_**Of course."**_

"**_Say it! Say you promise me! Please!" she begged desperately. She needed this promise, for her, for Suki, and for the new life that she had within her. She couldn't bear to tell him now, not when everything seemed so bleak. But she had to, didn't she?_**

"**_All right. I promise you, Yumi. I'll be back. Everything will be all right." _**

_**He was trying to comfort her, to ease her soul-wrenching pain. **_

"You can't believe it!"

Anguish filled his soul. "Yumi, we searched the area for days. Ulrich sacrificed himself to destroy X.A.N.A. No one could have survived the blast after X.A.N.A. was killed."

She spoke coldly. "He survived it."

_He promised me._

"Yumi, he's gone."

"He's coming back."

She was faraway now, eating mechanically and methodically. Her eyes were distant and sad, and she kept eating, even past the lump that was slowly rising in her throat and as tears came to her eyes, blurring her vision.

"**_I've got to go now, my love. Is there anything else?"_**

_**She felt misery fill her heart and shook her head, though he couldn't see her. **_

"**_I…I've got a surprise for you, Ulrich. A new…it's…a surprise. But…but you have to come back to see it. That's why you _must _keep your promise, above all costs."_**

**_He was silent a moment, judging. When he spoke again, his voice quavered. And Yumi knew that he knew what she was struggling to tell him._**

"**_I'll say it as many times as you want. I'll be back, Yumi. I'll be back."_**

"Yumi…"

No response.

He stood. His visit was over. Once she reached the point of not even pretending to listen anymore, it was time for him to go.

"You know my number when you finally give in and call me."

She nodded distractedly. She couldn't look at him anymore. If he had stared closely, he would've seen the wetness in her eyes. She was lost into memories and the promise she was clinging to.

He walked out of the kitchen and into the living room where the daughter was.

"Goodbye, Suki-chan," the man said, kneeling down next to the little girl. She was clutching a small stuffed Totoro doll, and there were a few suspicious wet stains on the purple toy's head. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.

"Hang in there, sweetheart," he whispered. "You're strong, just like your mother. You'll be all right, I promise."

She looked up at him with those large dark eyes, and he smiled at her reassuringly. She blinked, and then nodded.

"_Arigatou_, Uncle Odd." He patted her on the head. Yes. She would be all right.

_**The tears were slowing down, dwindling to occasional drops instead of a river. **_

"_**I believe you, Ulrich. I…I love you so much!"**_

**_He smiled again. "I know. I love you too, and I won't break my promise. Give my love to Suki, as well."_**

"_**I will."**_

"_**Goodbye, Yumi. I love you. Never forget that."**_

**I love you, I love you, I love you.**

"_**I won't, Ulrich! I love you too." Her voice was strangled as the tears started again. **_

**No…wait! Ulrich…don't go! Don't go! Don't leave me!**

**_And then the line was dead, and the phone fell to the floor. She fell along with it, and the only sound to be heard was that of her broken, hysterical weeping as she sobbed into the floor._**

The man slipped out the front door, locking it with the key that the woman had given him long ago. He stood on the doorstep for a few moments, staring at the closed door with his emotions swirling inside his heart. He lifted his fist as if he was going to strike the door, but at last his fist rested on it gently. _I won't give up on you, Yumes. _He walked down to his car, where he paused for yet a few more minutes. At last he started it and started driving off.

His wife was waiting for him when he walked in. He smiled sadly and embraced her, nuzzling her close. He placed his hand on her large stomach and was reminded of his dear friend.

"How did it go?" she asked quietly against his chest.

"Same as usual."

They were silent for a few moments, and then she lifted her head.

"Are you-"

"Going back tomorrow." His voice was firm and steady, though he wished that it wasn't so.

His wife nodded. She accepted it, like she did every time.

He would be back the next day, and the next. As long as it took him to help his friend, he would be there. He would honor the wishes of her husband, his best friend.

**_Somewhere, in the darkest, most distant corner of the world, a grown man cried._**

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Mama?"

The Japanese woman glanced up. Her daughter gazed up at her with sad eyes as she watched her mother cry over her bowl of food.

"Suki-chan. I'm sorry, I haven't paid much attention to you, have I? Come here, little one." Her arms were opened and waiting.

The little girl obeyed, climbing into her mother's lap. She gave her a hug that only little children can give, the kind that are so pure and genuine that they are able to break even the hardest soul.

"Mama, Daddy is coming back, isn't he?"

It was a statement more than anything else. With all her heart, Suki Celeste Stern believed it.

Yumi Ishiyama Stern smiled through her tears. She took in a quiet, shuddering breath before she answered, "Yes, Suki, love. Daddy is coming back."

_He promised. _

_He's coming back. _

_And then…everything will be all right._

………………………………………………………

AN: This was inspired by a movie I saw in China (even though it was only the end of it). It was so sad, I cried! The pregnant mother in the movie (who was stuffing her face just like Yumi) did such a wonderful job, I could feel every emotion she portrayed even though it was in a different language (it had subtitles). I wish I knew what the movie's title was! Anyways, I saw a UxY in the making when I saw it, so I saved up the idea until I got back to the US.

Question, should I make this a two shot and have Ulrich return? Or should I let it end right now? Let me know!

Even if it was absolutely horrible, PLEASE review! I'll give you a cookie. :D

**((jAdE))**


	2. Never Let Go

**Never Let Go**

_I'm back! Sort of, for the moment. I rediscovered this on my computer and decided to post it. It's a little bit rough and choppy, cuz I'm too lazy to edit it too much, but c'est la vie. I changed my pen name, too, but I'm still Jade :3 _

_People kept asking for a sequel, but somehow I doubt this is the sequel they had in mind. As I told one reviewer, I feel like this story should end sad, or at least be sad for awhile longer. Let me know what you think._

_Reviews are teh love!_

_~*((jAdE))_

…………………………………………

"_**Are you scared?"**_

"_**No. Why should I be? I'm with you." **_

_**A tender caress of his strong, calloused fingers ran across the back of her soft, porcelain hand. It sent a shiver down her back. **_

_**She reached out to touch the ring on his hand, the final irony. It wasn't the golden wedding band that was sitting on his left ring finger, but the silver dove ring she'd bought him the day after they'd shut down X.A.N.A. as a symbol of celebration, of peace at last. And now it seemed that the final celebration of their enemy's death was at hand.**_

"_**This is going to save the world, but you're going to die."**_

"_**As long as our hearts are together, there's nothing that can harm me," he chastised gently. His hands moved from her palm to her face, cupping the beautiful, delicate features tenderly. "Not even death."**_

_**She closed her eyes, resting in his warmth, his calm, his strength, everything she was not, and waited for his kiss. When it came, it was chaste and sweet, and yet bloomed into all the untamed passion that had marked their relationship from the start. As he deepened the kiss, she heard the first explosion and felt it rock the ground beneath their feet. She was afraid, but not for herself. She wrapped her arms around his sturdy frame, holding him as close to her as she could. **_

"_**Don't leave me," she whispered against his lips. "You will, you know. This is only a dream."**_

"_**Beautiful, I won't," he murmured, the vibrations of the words tickling her. The next explosion came, closer this time, loud enough to hurt her ears and send them reeling against the wall. Still she held on.**_

**I can't let go.**

"**Promise**_** you won't leave me again," she begged, breaking away from his kiss to look into his deep green eyes. The dream would end soon, and their time together would be over. Her stomach clenched at the thought. He gave a quiet laugh and pressed her head against his chest, consoling, reassuring. She could hear his heartbeat's steady rhythm, and it soothed her. He smoothed a hand lovingly over her silky raven's wing hair.**_

"_**I never will." **_

_**The third explosion came, the fatal detonation. Neither said the three words that mattered most to them, but it wasn't necessary. As the world flared up into white hot heat and pain, she kept holding on. **_

**With all of my heart.**

The Japanese woman opened her eyes wearily, lids weighed down with exhaustion. But she was feeling more wonderful than she had in a long time. Sweat plastered her black ink locks to her pale porcelain forehead as her dark orbs stared forward blearily.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Stern, it's a healthy boy," someone was saying. She nodded drowsily, blinking and trying to focus her eyes.

"Would you like to hold him?" the person asked again. The mother of her second child turned her head, feeling like it was made of lead, and nodded. She tried to focus her eyes and saw only a blur of scrubs.

"Yes," Yumi Ishiyama Stern whispered, her words mere puffs of breath. "More than anything."

Her son was her oath, her atonement child. He was more valuable to her than anything in the world. The woman felt her arms moving instinctively to receive her child, felt his warm weight in her embrace, felt her lungs fill with his soft baby scent. Her eyes slowly focused all the way to see a thatch of downy brown hair, so heartwrenchingly familiar that it made her throat close up. A few burbles rose from his little throat, but he did not cry.

The nurse smiled and backed out of the room to give the mother time alone with her new baby.

"Hello there," Yumi Stern whispered. "You're here at last, little Kyle-chan." It was the name _he_ would have picked, she knew. When they'd been planning for their first child, Suki, they'd also selected a boy's name, and his first choice had been Kyle. Kyle Matsuo Stern.

"He's not here right now, but your father will think you're the most beautiful, precious baby he's ever seen. Except for Suki-chan, of course." Yumi smiled. "If he were here right now, he would kiss me even though I look like crap and say, 'We did it, Yumi.' And…and I would say, 'Who's we? I'm the one who carried this kid for nine months and went under thirty-two hours of labor!' Then he would laugh, and hold us in his arms, Kyle. That's what would happen."

There was a hole in the room, a piece torn from this beautiful picture of new life. It sucked the joy from Yumi's limbs into its black depths, and she found herself unable to get it back.

Yumi blinked away the choking tears, fighting back the urge to start sobbing. _I'm still waiting, Ulrich. I don't know why you're taking so long, but just hurry up and get here to see your son. I miss you, you know. _

She took a well-practiced deep breath, trying to soothe the familiar rising lump away.

_I feel like I'm dying of loneliness._

"Yumi!"

An energetic blonde man ran into the room, toting a tiny brunette girl, a staggeringly pregnant black-haired woman, and a camera. The threesome crowded around the left side of her bed, beaming at her. She swallowed the bitter lump of familiar pain that she would unleash later in solitude and gave them a tired smile.

"You did it, Yumi! He's beautiful! Now smile at the camera!"

Click. Click.

"Odd! Put the camera away! I look like a mess!"

"No! You'd yell at me for the next twenty years about how I didn't get pictures of this!"

"Mama, my new brother! I'm so excited! He's soooo cute!"

"You lucky bum, Yumi! Gah, I could kill you for getting out of this before me!"

The last cry made Yumi laugh.

Click.

"Sam, it'll be your turn soon enough," rasped Yumi, rocking Kyle back and forth gently. Her throat felt like it'd been rubbed down with sandpaper. "And let me tell you, I'm not so sure you should be so eager to pop the kid out."

"Yeah, thirty four hours of labor, Yumes. That's killer. Ugh…I'm miserable pregnant and I'll be miserable in labor. ODD! WHY DID YOU GET ME INTO THIS MESS?!"

"Shhh, Sam! You'll disturb the kid!" The blonde man's eyes flicked frantically to the little boy child, but the aforementioned newborn had only gurgled some more and searched the room blindly for the source of noise. A calm child. Or maybe he knew the voice of family when he heard it. "Somehow, I don't think that she'll be any less pissed off during the actual labor."

"No kidding," Yumi said hoarsely, grinning at Sam and her painfully swollen belly. "I can't believe you're going to have twins, Sam. I thought I had it bad."

"When the doctor told me the news after the sonogram, I thought I was going to faint!" admitted the brunette, laughing, "But I'll be excited…once this mess is over."

"There's no other feeling like it," Yumi said, her words faint and light as if they had been etched in the air with dandelion seeds. "Really and truly. To have brought another life into the world…knowing your hard work had paid off…when you hold the little life in your arms for the first time…"

…_when you see your husband's face in his…_

"Yeah…" Odd said, watching Yumi's face carefully. She hid it well from one year of grief and sorrow, but he could see the pinpricks that were drawing blood from her heart. He reached out and took one of her hands, patting it gently. "Yeah, you're amazing, Yumi." Something transpired between the two old friends as they stared into each other's eyes, but neither said another word about it.

Suki, who had been watching with big, quiet eyes, at last interrupted, "Can I hold him, Mama?"

Yumi blinked and looked at her daughter, smiling. "Yes, of course, Suki-chan. Come here, but be _very_ careful!" Odd trained his digital camera on the little girl and the newborn as she took the baby into her arms. Suki looked at Asian eyes that mirrored her own, and soft, tufted down as rich a chocolate color as the hair on her own head. She giggled and rocked the baby.

Yumi had read about only children feeling replaced with the arrival of a second child. She herself had immediately walloped Hiroki when he'd arrived home from the hospital. But looking into Suki's eyes, she knew that this would not be the case. Though Suki's eyes were young and innocent, there was a deeper wisdom in her four-year-old pools, something mature and aware. She understood the frailty of their fatherless family, and the frailty of her mother's heart.

"_You're turning her into a grownup, you know."_ Odd's words from weeks ago came back to haunt her memory, and Yumi sighed inaudibly. She knew it. Kami above, she knew it.

Suki wanted to shelter her family, same as Yumi.

"What's his name, Mama?" she inquired, her high, childish voice strangely solemn.

"Kyle, Suki-chan," said her mother, feeling a wave of an unnamed emotion flood her being.

"Kyle," repeated Suki, and nodded. "Hello, Kyle. Mama and I'll take good care of you, I promise."

Click.

Sam smiled and began, "Look how cute she is with hi-"

"So will Papa. When he gets back."

Silence entered the room, heavily stilling everyone in it. Odd lowered his camera and gazed at Suki with a mixture aghastness of and pity, but when she met his gaze, her expression was impenitent.

"Come, Suki, Sam," Odd said at last. "Let's give Mama some rest. We know she's earned it." He smiled, but it was a bit forced. Suki silently gave Kyle back to Yumi and kissed her mother on the cheek.

"Bye, Mama," she said, and her cheery self was back again, "I'll see you and Kyle-chan later, _hai_?"

"_Hai_. _Ja ne_, Suki-chan, Odd, Sam."

"Jeremie and Aelita said they would come to see you as soon as their jet got back from England," Sam remarked as she left. "And we'll come back later."

"Yes," Yumi said, nodding. "See you later."

And then she was left with just her Kyle Matsuo Stern, who had fallen asleep once more. And so she sat, rocking her baby. Her precious, precious baby. And she cried.

"_I saw him as I was coming in here. He _is_ beautiful, Yumi. Our beautiful, healthy son."_

_His voice. So close, so clear. In the haze of her dying painkillers and exhaustion, another dream had arisen. Yumi's eyes stayed shut this time, not wanting to wrench at her heart with her half-mad mind's eye vision of her beloved. _

"_Ulrich, he looks just like you."_

"_Minus the Asian eyes, of course."_

_Laughter, as gentle and soft as raindrops pattering against a windowsill, cooled against the icy white of her pale face. She felt his hand, so warm, brushing against the liquid trailing down her cheeks. It was so warm against her frozen cheeks, it scalded. _

_Yumi nestled closer to his touch, her eyes staying closed. The world was heavy, weighted with heavy drugs and heavy fatigue. How long could she keep holding up in her own strength?_

"_Ulrich, you promised. You promised before you left, and you promised in my last dream. So don't leave this one. Please, I need you."_

_His hand stopped stroking, stilling. At last, he spoke. _

"_It's too dangerous, Yumi."_

_Yumi shifted. This was new. He'd never said such a thing before to her in her dreams. _

"_I…I'm being selfish now, you know. If I wasn't such a self-centered person, I would've stayed far away from this hospital. As I am still alive, X.A.N.A. is still alive, Yumi. He's alive in me. I can keep him under control for the most part, but…I know he's strong. That's why I need to stay away from you, my _kana. _I can't stay with you. _ _But…I just had to see you one more time."_

_Yumi felt the tears prick at the corners of her eyes and resume their fall. "No. Ulrich, it doesn't matter if you're a danger. I need you like I need air, do you hear me? Without you, I'm suffocating. Dying. Withering without you."_

"_Yumi-"_

"_No!" Her rage was welling up, overflowing, and the dam broke. The tears kept falling. She couldn't take this any more. "You don't understand what it's been like. Since you've been gone, only half of me is still living. There are days when I wake up and say, 'Why am I even alive? The world keeps spinning, it doesn't need me in it.'_

" _All those days we had together when we were young, fighting X.A.N.A., I think of them and I just start crying. Because those were the days when I was truly happy. And even now, I have all these dreams. Dreams of you. And I know it's better to sleep than be awake, because I can be with you, even if it's not real. It makes me want to just sleep forever. Why would I even want to get out of bed every morning? Can you see how pathetic I've become? I'm not hanging in here, I'm falling. And this time, you're not here to catch my hand and pull me back up." _

_Quiet sobs choked her hospital room. Of course, no one from the hospital's staff came in to check on her, because it was only a dream. Yumi realized that he was holding her now, feeling her sobs wrack her small, thin frame, feeling her sorrow and pain throb in her broken heart. Maybe he was trying to absorb her ache and pain, and in a strange way, he did. Yumi's weeping slowed and ebbed, bleeding away into a shallow flow._

"_I can't do this anymore." Her words were muffled against his shirt. "Ulrich, I'm falling apart."_

"_Yumi," he whispered, his lips brushing between her hairline and her forehead. She shivered. "I'm so proud of you. I know it's been hard for you, and I can't tell you how sorry I am to put you through this. But keep holding on, all right? With all of your heart. While I can't stay with you now, I promise…I'll do everything I can to break free and return."_

_Another promise. Another bloody, ragged promise, another little chunk torn from his heart. But as much as she loathed herself for doing so, Yumi couldn't bring herself to do anything other than grasp it, though however tiredly, and hold on to it. Just like the other one. _

"_I love you," she murmured. The dream was starting to fade now. The black was too overpowering and she too drained._

"_And I love you," he said fiercely, pressing her small body even closer to his. He bent his head down and captured her lips with his, kissing her fervently and full of desire, but the night was too short and the moonlight too revealing, and he pulled away all too soon. _

"_Never let go," he whispered at last. He pulled something from around his neck and placed it in her palm. It was cool, and yet warm with his love. "Don't lose this. I'll be back for it. I promise." _

_Yumi nodded, too tired to anything else, and let sleep take over. She didn't feel his lips brush her cheek tenderly, or see the look filled with longing love that would've broken the heart of anyone watching, or notice his fingers touch her hand one last time before he stood and vaulted out of the open window._

"Nnn."

"Mrs. Stern?"

A tiny noise made its way from the back of Yumi's throat. Though she'd surely slept for a good solid couple of hours, she felt almost more drained and tired than when she'd fallen asleep. Her eyes cracked open. They were crusty with tear-salt, and the tiny crystals' memory almost made her eyes burn once more.

What an awful dream, Yumi thought wearily. She sat up, trying to remember what had awakened her, and her eyes focused on the nurse standing at her bedside.

"I'm terribly sorry to wake you, but you have two friends here, Mr. and Mrs. Jeremie Belpois. They said they regretfully could only stay for a few moments, so I thought I would find out if it was all right with you. Would you like to see them?"

"Yes," Yumi murmured. "Yes, please, show them in."

Her head was pounding, but even this couldn't match the unsteady rhythm of her thumping heart. There was something wrong. There was something she desperately needed to realize, but what was it?

"Yumi!"

A high-pitched squeal came from the doorway. Aelita's bubblegum locks were the first thing Yumi saw as her friend came rushing into the room to give her a tight hug. Jeremie followed behind, a smile on his face.

"Yumi, congratulations," he said warmly.

"Thank you," Yumi replied, smiling back over Aelita's shoulder.

"I can't believe you! You said the due date was in another week, and so we scheduled our England trip accordingly. And then you go and have the baby!" Aelita said accusingly, her green eyes sparkling with fun.

"Well, gee, I'm sorry," the Japanese woman replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes and laughing at Aelita. "Next time I'll cross my legs!"

"I heard that it took almost two days!" Jeremie exclaimed. "I can't believe anyone could survive that long."

"Yeah, it's a miracle," Yumi agreed, yawning at just the thought of it. "Did you go see him? Kyle, I mean?"

"Yes!" Aelita squealed. "Oh, Yumi, he's adorable! He looks just like—" The woman stopped herself midsentence, her hand slapped over her mouth in horror. Jeremie gave her a look of dismay at her thoughtlessness and glanced quickly at Yumi. But to their surprise, Yumi only smiled.

"Yeah, he does look just like Ulrich," she whispered.

There was a long silence, awkward for Jeremie and Aelita, who look chagrined, and peaceful for Yumi, who smiled with content. But it wasn't to last

"Yumi," Aelita said suddenly, "what's that?" She pointed to something hidden in the white folds of the hospital sheets, a silver object that gleamed mockingly. Yumi's eyes moved slowly to the spot, and then widened in shock.

"No," she whispered.

Yumi reached out to pluck a familiar silver dove ring from the bed, the one that she'd given to him the year they'd shut down X.A.N.A.

Yumi screamed. She didn't stop, not when Aelita and Jeremie shook her and shouted at her to stop, asking what's wrong. She didn't stop when she heard Suki crying. She didn't stop until the nurses and doctors came to jab her with a needle.

Sleeping Beauty plunged down into dark sleep once more, still screaming one name in her head.

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J: Review? Next chapter?


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